Introduction
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program was historic. It represented an unprecedented investment by the federal government in integrated postsecondary education and workforce training, primarily in community and technical colleges.
This brief presents results of a meta-analysis of quasi-experimental design (QED) evaluation studies of TAACCCT grants. Those studies examined the grants’ effects on four student outcomes: program completion, credential attainment, post-training employment, and post-training wage changes.
Overview
Between 2011 and 2018, 256 TAACCCT grants totaling nearly $2 billion were awarded through four competitive rounds. These grants spotlighted the critical role of community colleges in responding to economic downturns and preparing workers for a future in which postsecondary education and credentials are a necessity.
This meta-analysis indicates that TAACCCT had a positive effect on the education and employment outcomes of those who participated in its funded programs and strategies. That positive effect appears to be greater for educational outcomes (program completion and credential completion) than for employment outcomes (post-program employment and wage changes).
These findings, reached after a thorough review of more than 200 evaluation reports, can be of significant help in estimating TAACCCT’s impact. Still, they should not be seen as the sole guide to decision-making about future policy and program design. Rather, they should complement other independent research efforts—including those conducted by the Urban Institute and ABT—to describe TAACCCT’s implementation and measure its impact.